Manufacture of footwear



March 1944. s. s. COLELLA MANUFACTURE OF FOOTWEAR Filed March 10, 1943 2Sheets-Sheet 1 IIII"I"""!"I'JII. I

March 14, 1944. G. s. COLELLA 2,344,458

MANUFACTURE OF FOOTWEAR Filed March 10, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 jndrziar'667' 15. Qqlellw Patented Mar. 14, 1944 MANUFACTURE OF FOOTWEAR 7 GeraldS. Colella, Havel-hill, Mass, assignor of one-half to Samuel Merker,Havel-hill, Mass.

Application March 10, 1943, Serial No. 478,622

2 Claims.

This invention pertains to the manufacture of footwear and relates moreparticularly to a method of making shoes and to a stage productresulting from the practice of said method.

I am aware that it has heretofore been proposed to make certain types ofslipper or sandal by first uniting the quarter lining. counter, and theouter member of the quarter; uhen moulding the united parts as a unit ina counter-moulding machine; and then attaching the moulded unit, withoutfurther lasting, to the rear portion of the insole. However, this priormethod is of limited application in respect to the class of footwear inwhich it is useful. It requires that the shoe maker first unite thequarter lining, counter, and the outer member of the upper, and thensend this assembly to the counter moulder for the performance of themoulding operation. Since the quarter material must be in temper whenmoulded and since, in the moulding operation, the outer member of thequarter comes into contact with the mould, this procedure is notapplicable to delicate materials by reason of the danger of stainingthem. Moreover, when the quarter is integrally joined to the vampportion of the upper, such moulding of the quarter by the countermanufacturer is not ordinarily feasible.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide an improvedmethod whereby shoes of such usual types as pumps, oxfords, etc may bemade more cheaply and expeditiously than when made in accordance withcustomary prior practice, but without sacrifice of wearing qualities orappearance. A further object is to provide an improved method of makingshoes which permits elimination or simplification of such usual prioroperations as assembling, lining-pulling, counter-tacking, liningironing, etc. A further object is to provide an improved method whichresults in the production of shoes having uniformly straight back seams,uniform counters and quarters, and which are of uniform back height.Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will be mademanifest in the following more detailed description and by reference tothe accompanying drawings, wherein Fig, 1 is a plan view of a quarterlining;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a stiffener or counter member designed forassociation with the lining of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view showing the lining and stiffener assembled;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the assembled lining and stiffenerat the completion of the moulding operation;

Fig, 6 is a plan view of a shoe upper before lasting and before thecounter and quarter lining have been assembled with it;

Fig. 7 is a bottom view of the same upper with the quarter lining andcounter disposed within the upper;

Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the upper, having the quarter lining andcounter assembled therewith and stitched to the upper;

Fig. 9 is a section on the line 9-9 of Fi 8, to larger scale;

Fig. 10 is a bottom view of the upper, mounted on a last, as it appearsat the completion of the lasting operation;

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary inverted side elevation of the rear portion ofthe shoe after lasting and with the last in place; and

Fig. 12 is a rear elevation of the shoe showing the back seam.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral I designates the quarter liningblank. This quarter lining may be of any suitable material but iscommonly made of soft leather, frequently a suede finished leather, inorder to prevent slipping of the heel within the shoe. The numeral 2designates a stiffener or counter blank which likewise may be of anyappropriate material commonly employed for the purpose, for examplefiberboard, or felt containing a suitable stiffening impregnant. Thestifiener 2 is somewhat smaller than the quarter lining so that when theparts are placed in assembled relation and in proper registry, themarginal portion of the quarter lining extends outwardly beyond thestiffener, particularly at the curved margin of the latter. Beforeassembling the parts I and 2, it is preferred to coat one or both ofthem with an adhesive material 3, for example latex, rubber cement orthe like, so that when the parts are assembled they become adhesivelyjoined thereby to form a unitary structure, hereafter referred to as thequarter unit." It will be noted that this quarter unit consists merelyof the quarter lining and the stifiener together with the adhesive whichjoins them, and that it does not include the outer element of the shoequarter- Having prepared this unitary structure, it is subjected to acounter-moulding operation, for example in the usual counter-mouldingmachine, the unit first being moistened and placed in temper and thenmoulded and permitted to dry. thereby to retain the moulded shape.During the moulding of this quarter unit it is shaped to substantiallyto the shape of the quarter portion of the shoe which is to be made.that is to say, to the shape of the quarter portion of the last uponwhich the shoe will be lasted.

The shoe upper i (Fig. 6) is prepared in the usual way, being here shownas provided with a rear seam which may be reinforced by a tape at theinside of the quarter if desired. Having prepared this upper, themoulded quarter unit 4 is placed within the rear portion of the upper,as shown in Fig. 7, and then the quarterunit is permanently united tothe upper by means of a sewed seam 8 (Fig. 8) whose stitches passthrough the margin of the quarter lining (but preferably not through thestiffener element 2) the seam beginning at one side of the shoe upper,extending along the margin of the quarter unit around the back of theupper, and then down to the lower edge of the upper at its oppositeside.

The upper with its moulded quarter unit is now mounted upon a last L(Fig. 11) and'is pulled over and lasted in accordance with usualmethods, the marginal portion 8' (Fig. 10) of the upper being lasted inover the flange I of the quarter unit and secured to the inner sole Illby means of staples, tacks or the like.

In thus assembling the upper upon the last and in pulling it over incompleting the lasting operation, it is unnecessary to apply any lastingstress to the material. forming the moulded quarter unit since thismaterial has already been shaped to conform to the shape of the rear endof the last. Thus, the lasting stress may be confined wholly to theouter material of the quarter of the shoe, and thus it is readilypossible to obtain uniformity in the lasted upper at its rear part, inparticular to keep the back seam ll straight and properly centered.Since the quarter unit has already been moulded to predetermined shapeand dimensions it is readily possible to obtain uniformity in the shapeof the completed shoe.

Furthermore, as the outer member of thequarmaybedrawnassnuglyaboutthelastasbedesiredsinceitisnotadhesivelysecured the moulded quarter unit.Moreover, it is necessary for the shoe manufacturer to send quartermaterial out of the factory (as is requisite when the quarter, stifienerand quarter lintion is broadly inclusive of any and all modificationswhich fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Method of making shoes which comprises as steps providing a quarterlining and a fiat counter blank, the counter blank being of lesssuperficial area than the lining, so assembling the lining and blankthat the curved margin of the lining projects beyond that .of thecounter blank, uniting the lining and blank. moulding the unit thusformed to the shape of the rear end of the shoe which is to be made,inserting the moulded unit within the rear end portion of the upper,stitching the exposed margin of the quarter lining to the upper, andthereafter lasting the upper.

2. Method of making shoes which comprises as steps providing a quarterlining, applying to said lining stiffening means thereby to make thelining retentive of the shape thereby imparted thereto, the stiffeningmeans being so applied that the curved margin of the quarter liningremains soft and flexible, moulding said lining together -with thestiffening means to the shape of the quarter portion of the shoe whichis to be made, disposing said moulded and stiffened lining in the rearportion of the shoe upper, and uniting it to 45 the latter by stitchespassing through the flexible margin of the quarter lining, andthereafter lasting the upper.

GERALD B. COLELLA.

